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NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
sga
Students initiate maintenance projects Organizations combine efforts to restore campus Annabelle Hutchinson The Battalion
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Shelby Knowles — THE BATTALION
Clay Koepke The Battalion
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ed by a pair of defending national champions, Breeja Larson and Cammile Adams, the No. 3 Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team will be represented by 16 competitors at this year’s NCAA Championships. The championship meet will be held Thursday through Saturday at the Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn. A total of 322 student athletes — 281 swimmers and 41 divers — will compete in the championships after meeting established minimum time requirements
for their respective events. With 16 qualified swimmers attending the national meet, A&M trails only defending NCAA Champion — and this year’s SEC Champion — Georgia for the highest number of swimmers competing in the three-day meet. A&M’s 16 invitees top the 15 swimmers from A&M’s 2011 squad as the most in school history to compete at a national meet and marks the eighthstraight season the Aggies have sent double-digit qualifiers to the NCAAs. Larson and Adams are just two of the six seniors leading an experienced pool of swimmers to Minneapolis. Ten of the 13
William Guerra — THE BATTALION
A&M Olympians aim to defend swimming titles swimmers from last year’s fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships will return to compete this year. As an Olympic gold medalist, NCAA champion and SEC champion, Larson is no stranger to the national stage. This
year’s NCAA Championships will mark Larson’s fourth consecutive trip to the national meet and second time as a defending champion. Following a second-place finish in the 100 breaststroke as a freshman in 2011, Larson has swept the event the past
two years. Under head coach Steve Bultman, A&M has finished in the top 10 of the NCAAs seven straight seasons since 2007, including fourth-place finishes in 2008 and 2013, the team’s best results.
tudent Government has been working with SSC Service Solutions, the organization that handles maintenance at A&M, to reinstall commemorative plaques at Simpson Drill Field and to solve Bonfire Memorial lighting issues. Matt Keller, SGA student services chair and senior industrial distribution major, said it was brought to Student Senate’s attention that there were once 55 plaques next to each oak tree around Simpson Drill Field to commemorate the 55 Aggies who died during WWI. Amanda Hatheway, SGA chief of staff and senior business major, introduced a bill calling for the return of the plaques and SGA began a search to find the missing plaques. “Basically, the plaques were being stored in the Corps Center,” Keller said. “They had been outside a lot so they had been corroded. We contacted the maintenance company, told them we found these plaques and that we wanted to fix them up and put them back out. They came up with the whole idea of putting them on stands and how to do it. So SGA is actually going to have another allocation bill to fund half of that refurbishing for the plaques, and the maintenance company is going to fund the See SGA on page 2
world
Speaker to clarify changes to China’s 1-child policy Lecture seeks to offer unbiased explanation Victoria Rivas The Battalion
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hina is the world’s most populous nation with 1.3 billion people and counting. For 34 years, the nation has implemented a one-child-per-couple policy that attracted both criticism and praise. The Confucius Institute at Texas A&M University will host “Exploring China’s One-Child Policy: Past, Present and Future” on Thursday, presented by visiting scholar Ruiwu Min. Kelly Kleinkort, director of the Confucius Institute, said the lecture was created to provide opportunities for students, faculty and staff to gain a greater understanding of the one-child policy in China. The lecture will focus on why China implemented these policies, its influence on the country, the side effects and the future of the policy, Min said. The policy was put in place to reduce the cost of food and living and create a sustainable
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job market, Min said, and the policy has been successful in reducing the country’s population growth by 400 million since its origin in 1980. Min said the family structure in China has changed drastically as a result of the policy. “There was a view of fertility in China — the more children, the more happiness you have,” Min said. “Only in the last 30 years did this change.” Min said the policy has been changed, due in part to the current skewed gender ratio, with 117 men for every 100 females. As part of the changes, if at least one member of a couple is an only child, they may have two children. Kleinkort said the lecture was structured to offer a nonbiased approach to explain the history, aspects and effects of the policy. “Our goal isn’t to give a political bias to the lecture, being pro or against the policy,” Kleinkort said. “We really just want to allow students to understand the history of the policy and its implications for the future.” See China on page 3
Ravi Zacharias, Christian apologist and founder of Zacharias International Ministries, spoke Tuesday at Breakway in Reed Arena. Matthew Wong — THE BATTALION
QUEST FOR MEANING
Q&A: Christian apologist preaches faith on campus
Photographer Matthew Wong sits down with Ravi Zacharias, Christian apologist and founder of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, to discuss his thoughts on faith and spirituality in the 21st century.
Zacharias spoke Tuesday at Breakaway in Reed Arena and Wednesday in Rudder Auditorium to talk about “God or No God: The Quest for Absolute Meaning.” THE BATTALION: How did you become interested in apologetics? ZACHARIAS: Let me begin by saying “Howdy,” I hear that would cover a multitude of errors. I don’t think it’s uncommon, coming from the part of the world that I did, coming from India, where the Christian faith is clearly a minority. Whenever you are taking a move that is not in
the mainstream, or believing something that has cost you quite a bit, and you believe it out of deep conviction, then you have to answer the questions, there is no escaping it, either internally or externally. You are constantly surrounded by deepseated questions of truth, and of difference, so I got interested in apologetics; nobody pushed me into it, nobody dragged me into it, it was just a natural move of my own mind into the fact that these questions are not just mine, they are questions for many, so I got into it probably in my graduate work. See Zacharias on page 4
STUDENT RUSH TICKETS ONLY $20! TONIGHT & TOM’W NIGHT • 7:30 PM • Rudder Auditorium
A limited number of student rush tickets available. Available only at the MSC Box Office. Limit 2 tickets per student. Student ID is required. This offer not valid for tickets already purchased.
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page 2 thursday 3.20.2014
thebattalion
entertainment
‘Bring it On’ brings more than music
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et ready for high-flying stunts, singing, dancing and most of all, get ready to bring it on. Fresh off the Broadway stage, “Bring It On: The Musical” tells a tale of overcoming adversity through the bonds of friendship forged in the world of high school cheerleading. Garnering Tony nominations for Best Musical and Best Choreography, the musical features an original story written by Tony Award winner Jeff Whitty. The story adapts its base storyline from various aspects of the films in the “Bring It On” franchise. Anne Black, executive director of MSC OPAS, said she was “really blown
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other half.” Richard Gentry, director of the physical plant staff for SSC Service Solutions, said it would cost about $140 for each plaque holder. For all 55 plaques, he said SGA would be asking for $3,850 to fund half of the plaques. Gentry first proposed the plaque holder concept and funding proposals to Student Senate and said he has involved other A&M organizations in the project. “The plaques are really worn and are in need of cleaning,” Gentry said. “As part of the project I told them I would fund the materials used for cleaning the plaques and Traditions Council has agreed to clean all the plaques. Then we’ll place the plaques on the new holders.” Gentry said the timeline
away” by the show when she saw it on Broadway. Black said she had an initial reluctance toward the musical because she was not excited for anything except for the choreography by Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuelhler. Black said she encouraged people to look beyond the cheerleading and see the deeper message. “You will be pleasantly surprised,” Black said. “It is a show about everybody. In your lifetime you will have a major disappointment you will have to deal with. That’s what the show is all about. Cheer is just the dressing.” Cheerleading also provides a platform for the musical to address race, class, sexuality and gender identity. Cast member Sharrod Williams plays La Cienega, a transgender member of the cheerleading squad. Williams said cheerleading helps convey the messages of diversity and love in the show that will resonate with people of all ages. “Cheerleading, being a sport that
for the plaque’s installation is dependent on Student Senate allocating the funds for the project. Gentry said he has spoken with the Corps of Cadets in regards to possibly having a rededication ceremony for the plaques next Veterans Day. SGA has also been working on cleanup at the Bonfire Memorial. Collin Kruger, sophomore finance major, works on SGA’s student services team to identify maintenance issues at the memorial. “We noticed that a lot of things were missing, a lot of the light bulbs were out and a lot of things that just should just have been taken better care of,” Kruger said. “It is a really sacred memorial to our University and it means a lot to us.” Keller said after students expressed their concern over the maintenance of the Bonfire Memorial, maintenance
takes place on various levels including high school, college and all-star, alludes to the fact that individuals take part in cheerleading within a wide age range in life,” Williams said. “Given that, cheerleading is the perfect medium to use to express the message because these themes and life lessons are things that people of all ages relate to throughout their lives in combination with a sport mentality, which helps to tell any story.” Williams said telling this familiar story with song and dance gives it an edge not found in the movies. Meggan Plyler, sophomore biology major, said she is curious to see how the addition of music the plot line. “I’m interested because the movie wasn’t a musical,” Plyler said. “I want to see what songs they will do.” MSC OPAS will present “Bring It On: The Musical” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday in Rudder Auditorium. Tickets are available for purchase through the MSC Box Office.
has been working to resolve the issues. “It is such a big part of what Texas A&M is still, what it symbolized,” Keller said. “So the fact that [maintenance] has taken it up and really started to maintain the Bonfire Memorial makes me really happy to see that compared to what it was at the beginning of the semester.” Gentry said fixing the lighting issues at Bonfire Memorial is more complicated than just replacing a light bulb. “It was designed and installed 11 years ago, and the lighting technology at the time was state of the art,” Gentry said. “But you know, over time, those systems have to be upgraded and redone. We had some trouble sourcing those lights because a lot of those lights they don’t make anymore because LED technology has moved on. Getting repair parts has been very difficult.”
Gentry said maintenance is bringing in a lighting consultant to find the best way to update the memorial. In the meantime, Gentry said maintenance is working to keep everything up and running. “All the lights should be up and burning by Friday,” Gentry said. “Except for one exception — one of the yellow lights on the timeline costs around $750 and must be bought in bulk.” Maintenance has plans to make the bathrooms at the Bonfire Memorial more American Disabilities Actaccessible by putting in some small ramps, Gentry said. “It is a work in progress to get it back to where it needs to be, and then in the mean time we are looking for a long-term solution that would have to be funded somehow on installing more up-to-date lighting fixtures,” Gentry said.
thebattalion THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE OF TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893
Jake Walker, Editor in Chief THE BATTALION is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center. News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com. Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising, call 979-845-2687. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email: battads@thebatt.com. Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1.
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news
page 3 thursday 3.20.2014
thebattalion
m. basketball
A&M advances in postseason Aggies top Wyoming in Reed, 59-43
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he A&M men’s basketball team doubled Wyoming’s score by halftime and dispatched its first opponent in the College Basketball Invitational, 5943. Sophomore guard Alex Caruso dished out 10 assists in the win Wednesday
at Reed Arena, his third game this season with 10 or more assists. Antwan Space (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Kourtney Roberson (14 points, 10 rebounds) notched double doubles, the first Aggie pair to do so this season. A&M will play Illinois State in the second round Monday, site to be announced. Full story at thebatt.com
Photos by Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION
Guard Alex Caruso (left) tallied 10 assists and center Kourtney Roberson (above) recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday.
China Continued from page
Heidi DeMaret, junior Spanish and international studies major, said she isn’t comfortable with the one-child policy. “I think it’s a form of repression and expression of communism,” DeMaret said. “Even if they loosened up their restrictions, I still think it’s a limitation on the Chinese citizens’ freedom.” DeMaret said students should attend the lecture to learn more about expressions of human rights and freedom around the world. “I absolutely think it’s important for students to attend,” DeMaret said. “We take this one freedom of having a family for granted and we think of these types of limitations as being back in the olden days, but it’s happening right now in the world.” Adolfo Cardena, ju-
nior Spanish major, said the policy is an effective way to solve the country’s overpopulation problem, despite the potential issues the policy faces. “Due to the overpopulation of China right now, I think the policy is exactly what China needs,” Cardena said. Cardena said regardless of a student’s personal opinion on the policy, everyone could benefit from attending the lecture. “We need to realize that the United States is not the only country in the world,” Cardena said. “We need to have a good idea of the world politics in other countries. That way you’re well informed and knowledgeable of the world around us.” The lecture will be from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday in the J. Wayne Stark Gallery in the Memorial Student Center.
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BAT_03_20_14_A3.indd 1
3/19/14 9:32 PM
The Brazos Valley Church of Christ would like to invite you to our 2014 Spring Lectureship with David Sproule on March 23rd – 26th at 625 Graham Rd., College Station, TX
The Riches of Christ Sun., March 23rd Bible Class - 9:00 am
Christ’s Glorious Blessings
Sun., March 23rd Worship - 10:00 am
Christ’s Valuable Treasure
Sun., March Worship - 5:00 pm
Christ’s Transforming Power
Mon., March 24th 7:00 pm
The Christian’s Posture Like Christ
Tues., March 25th 7:00 pm
The Christian’s Mission for Christ
Wed., March 26th 7:00 pm
The Christian’s Reward with Christ
23rd
David Sproule is a native Floridian, born and raised in West Palm Beach. He attended FreedHardeman University, graduating with a degree in Bible. While at Freed-Hardeman, he met and married Traci Smith. David has been preaching the gospel for more than twenty years, serving congregations in Tennessee and Florida. He has preached in gospel meetings and various lectureships throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries. Since 1997, David has been serving as one of the evangelists for the Palm Beach Lakes church of Christ in West Palm Beach, Florida. David and Traci have two daughters, Katie and Kelly.
Brazos Valley Church of Christ 625 Graham Road College Station, TX 77845
(979) 776-5487 or (979) 218-6669 E-mail: bvchurchinfo@yahoo.com www.brazosvalleychurchofchrist.com
news
page 4 thursday 3.20.2014
thebattalion
stark galleries
Youth tinker with Rube Goldberg machines Event draws local middle school Elizabeth Evans
The Battalion ix teams of students from A&M Consolidated Middle School competed to build their best Rube Goldbergstyle machine for the University Art Gallery’s Fuzzy Logic Competition Wednesday in Rudder Plaza. The competition was designed to tie into one of the Stark Gallery’s current exhibits, “The Curious World of Patent Models.” “We have our patent model exhibit, which is full of interesting inventions from history,” said Greg Phillipy, education coordinator at Stark Galleries. “We were hoping for Aggie students to participate, but we got the next best thing — future Aggies.” Recycled wood, duct tape and dominos were just some of the items the students used for their machines, along with toy cars, paper cups and marbles. “We have a shop at the school for robotics, so we had a lot of wood and spare parts there,” said Nicki Garner, robotics and simulations teacher at the middle school. “We also used tools we own or were donated and lots of the kids either bought or brought extra parts for their machines.” Phillipy said the competition encouraged recycling materials rather than going out and buying parts. “We encouraged participants to use things at hand, and not make really extrava-
S
Elizabeth Evans— THE BATTALION
Team “None of the Above” demonstrates its Rube Goldberg machine for senior food science major Pablo Vasquez (left).
gant purchases,” Phillipy said. “The competition really was a sort of sustainability exercise, too.” Garner said the students have been talking about the competition even outside of her class. “I kept hearing from teachers that the students were so excited,” Garner said. “They kept asking if college students were doing it as well. It gave them more incentive and motivation to do well and make the machine look good.” The objective of the machine was to pop a balloon and the judges chose three winners based on creativity, complexity and machine flow. “We had prizes for the winners, certificates and a bag of goodies,” Phillipy said. “We had gold, silver, honorable mention and people’s choice. Anybody walking around could submit for people’s choice.” The team “Lolcats” took the gold certificate home. Amina Alikahn, Class of 1992 and mother of one of the competitors, said she
Zacharias Continued from page 1
THE BATTALION: How old were you when you immigrated from India? What was your stance on your faith when you left? ZACHARIAS: It almost seems prehistoric now. I was 20 years old, my older brother was 22. My father sent both of us to sort of scout the land. We moved to Toronto, we were given a limited amount of foreign exchange, 400 some-odd dollars apiece to look for jobs, look for settling down. And I was, in my own Christian commitment, very young. I made my commitment to Jesus Christ when I was 17. It radically changed my life and ultimately changed my whole family. But the fact is, I was almost an infant in all of that, and arriving in Canada just put me on to study more, understand more and build my library starting from then. THE BATTALION: What does it mean to you to follow God? ZACHARIAS: We are not called to escape the real world. I mean some can choose to go and live in a cave for the rest of their lives, but that’s not engaging reality, that’s running from reality. That’s not engaging humanity,
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heard about the competition through the Stark Gallery mailing list and passed it on to Garner as an interesting field trip idea. “They had their projects finished before spring break,” Alikahn said. “When the kids heard they could compete at Texas A&M, there was a completely different level of interest.” The students’ machines started to attract Aggies passing through, including senior food science major Pablo Vasquez, who stopped to ask questions and watch trial runs. “I’m impressed,” Vasquez said. “It’s nice to see kids who are engaged in these types of activities.” Vasquez said competitions like the Fuzzy Logic event gets middle school students on the right track, enriches their learning and helps foster a spirit of teamwork. “The fact that they’re middle schoolers doesn’t mean anything,” Vasquez said. “They’re people trying to use their brains.”
that‘s barricading yourself from things. The pietism is an aspect of it, but it not ought to be so privatized that it is publicly disengaged. You know, we can’t make Christianity privately engaging and publicly innocuous, you know, we can’t do that. I was going to speak so much on these issues. We have to take that which bridges the head and the heart, the private and the public. The privatization of faith does a disservice to what faith is all about. So for the Christian, I think the best thing a Christian can do is be certain of what he or she believes, why it is the truth and find meaningful ways in which they can engage culture. THE BATTALION: In your opinion, what issues do Christian churches in America struggle with today? ZACHARIAS: So many things I think have gone wrong. Today I think it is more the form that is drawing the people than the substance. And if substance is compromised, what does the form really accomplish? Again, as one of my colleagues once said, ‘It is truth that gives relevance to relevance. Without the truth, relevance becomes irrelevant.’ And in an effort to become relevant, we have lost so much of the truth and the audience is the first to pick it all up.
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